Life in Japan!

Mansur's Bday!

2008-05-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

On April 21st, Mansur's birthday, we went out on a date, just the two of us. Two days earlier we had a simple celebration with a few friends.

We went for Kobe beef (steak) and had a drink at an Irish pub before getting some dessert. It was a pleasant evening, enjoying each other's company!

Miyajima!

2008-04-17T17:06:00.001-07:00

Miyajima is an island close to Hiroshima! Is is famous for its beautiful nature and traditional shrines! It attracts thousands of tourists everyday!

We went when the cherry blossoms were blooming! It was gorgeous!

We saw a Japanese style wedding taking place that afternoon!

Hiroshima!

2008-04-17T16:33:00.001-07:00

Though Mansur has been in Japan for over 16 years, and I, for over 8 years, neither of us had ever been to Hiroshima! It is quite interesting because Hiroshima is one of those places where foreigners try to visit first! I guess that knowing Japan is our home and feeling like we are going nowhere away from here anytime soon, made us wait so long to head to the unique city of Hiroshima!

The Dome was just amazing! Looking at the damage caused by the atomic bomb makes you reflect a lot about how it causes great damage not only to buildings, but also, to life!

With a great new digital camera, Mansur spent two days taking pictures of everything and everyone that caught his eyes!

We were impressed at how beautiful the city was, how well rebuilt it was and how it looked to normal! It was hard to imagine that not very long all, it was completely destroyed!

The rivers that run here and there give such a charming feeling to Hiroshima!

The Peace Park and the Arch attract thousand of visitors everyday! Not only foreigners, but also Japanese tourists and those who live in Hiroshima, who come to pray for the souls of those who died from the atomic bomb attack!

This is what Hiroshima looked like before the atomic bomb hit it!

This is how it looked after the bomb was dropped!

This is how the museum looks from the outside!

We had "okonomiyaki" for dinner. Though Osaka is also famous for it's "okonomiyaki," it is prepared a bit differently in Hiroshima! So, we enjoyed Hiroshima's traditional "okonomiyaki," which well known as "Japanese pizza." It is basically made of cabbage and eggs, and a mixture of different vegetables, meat, seafood, etc! Yummy!

Leah and Frazer's Wedding Party

2007-11-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Yes, again it has been a long time, and there is no excuse but the same old "busy life." Mansur is working hard and I am studying hard.
This past weekend we had the opportunity of attending the wedding reception of our good friends, Leah and Frazer. They got married in the U.S. in August and decided to celebrate with their friends in Japan. Please check out the pictures.
God bless you all!

First Home Party!

2007-08-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

Last night, we had our first home party at our new place. A total of 20 people came over. It is nice to have space for so many! I was so busy in the kitchen though, that I forgot to take pictures of everything and everyone. I will try harder next time. Mansur was also busy going to the station a million times, since no one knew the way to our place. He was picking up friends and walking them home! It was a great evening though!

This is part of the group enjoying our biggest balcony! The flowers were beautiful and the weather was quite nice.

Shuji (left) and Mai (bottom) got married last Sunday and Mansur did their wedding. Mansur invited them over and they came... It was great! Tsutomu (right) works at the restaurant where their ceremony took place!

This is a picture of another part of the group gathering to eat. From left to right: Hiroko (a friend who does her Masters on linguistics as well), Hoshiki (Hiroko's daughter, who did not look at the camera), Hitomi, Aki, Takashima, Kaori and Leti (from Indonesia)

At the very end, when only part of the group was still around, Mansur remembered we had not taken many pictures, so we got one more shot.
Top row (left to right): Mansur, Shun & Hiroko and their baby Hoshiki, Lori and Shinya
Bottom row (left to right): Aki, Kaori, Leti, and me

Yoko could not make it to the party, but she came late at night and spent the night over at our place. This is a morning picture just before she left for work!

Hitomi's Birthday!

2007-08-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last night, we went to a Spanish restaurant to celebrate Hitomi's birthday! The food was great and there was live flamenco dance!

Shinya and Lori are back from Australia and will be living in Kobe for a few years!

Kazu and Aya

Hitomi and her flowers! She also got a new motorbike from Hamid!

Camping!!!

2007-08-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

This summer, se have been so busy that we decided not to go anywhere. Being at home and doing what you cannot usually when you are working is also a good thing. However, not doing anything fun at all makes you feel like there was no summer break. So, we decided to go camping with our friends. We went to a town nearby, and spent a night there. The following day we enjoyed the beautiful nature.

We are back!!!

2007-07-23T03:30:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, it has been three months since our last post, so I am not even sure how to start this one... So many things have happened to us during this time. To summarize what we have been through, I can surely say that it has been the busiest time of our lives!!!

Well, a week after our last post (on Mansur's birthday), we found an apartment that we liked and all of a sudden we got ready to move. The contract was signed on April 29th and though the real estate wanted us to move in within two weeks, we begged for a little more time. We received the keys on May 21st and moved all our stuff by the 29th. I could not have done it if it were not for LeeAnn, who came over one weekend and totally helped me out. We packed all day long and she did what I was avoiding (books and papers from our study room). Since I had a presentation at university on both May 30th and June 6th, you can imagine how this was all driving me crazy! However, God is good, and so is my husband, and we managed to live among boxes, without stressing out much, as we carried on our daily routines. It has been 2 months in our new home. Time flies. Mansur was saying it would take this long to clean it up and organize it all. I thought he was teasing me. On the other hand, he was right. We still have boxes in two of our rooms and our flowers in the balcony have not been taken care of much! The truth is we have not yet spend one whole day at home when neither of us have something to do. Life has just been so busy, and our holidays do not match! Anyway, the good news is that today was the last day of work at the elementary school we teach at, and we will have a month off. Although Mansur still works a few days a week and I still have to study like a nerd, we are planning to get everything in order, so that our home really becomes a SWEET one.

We are now in the west side of Kobe, close to the beach. It is nicer than our old place since we have more space, fresher air and better view. I am posting some pictures I took this afternoon.

This is the Akashi bridge (from our living room's balcony), which connects Kobe to Awaji Island. Awaji Island was where Kobe's earthquake of 1995 (that killed over 6,000 people) hit the strongest.

This is the view we have of the sea. The land you see across the ocean is Awaji.

I will try to send more pictures of our home after we have it all organized. Believe me, I hope to do so before 2008 (*-*)

In order to let you know what we have been doing these days, I will post a few pictures of our activities in June in July!

On June 26th, we celebrated our Bulgarian friend's birthday at Kobe's Brazilian restaurant. Mariana tried to surprise her husband, Ivan, by inviting friends that night. It was fun! It is always nice to be with friends. Check out the pictures we took that night!

Ivan, Mariana and their baby girl - Alexandra

Kurosh, practicing to be a baseball player

Kurosh and the ladies!

Hamid, Ivan & Mansur

Ivan's friends!
the one on the left is Hungarian/German and the one on the right is Bulgarian

Isn't she the cutest!!!!!!???????

She loved my phone!

We even had a live concert! Classical music!

The family celebrating with a delicious chocolate cake!

In July, we had to say good-bye to our dear friend, Benjamin, who stayed with us for 2 years. He left Japan this afternoon! Last Saturday we celebrated his birthday and yesterday (Sunday) we had dinner after church and wished him well!

Mansur's Birthday!

2007-04-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, April 21st was Mansur's birthday. Since he had to go to work, we had a nice breakfast together and met downtown in the evening to go to a restaurant with some friends. We ate shabushabu, a Japanese dish. There is a pot of boiling water in the center and you boil meat, Chinese cabbage, mushroom, quail eggs, tofu, spring onions, Chinese dumplings, etc. Then, you put it on a small, individual bowl that already contains a sauce and eat it from there. There were three types of sauces: sesame, shoyu and spicy. All you can eat for only US $15. Cool, huh?
Well, check out the pictures and look for familiar faces!!!

Amir and his wife Anna, with their baby girl, Mitra (left)
Hamid and his wife Hitomi, with their baby boy, Kurosh (right)

Mansur-jan, Masa and Benjamin

Kaori, Yoko, Hana, Leah and Frazer (Hana works with Mansur and I at the elementary school we teach at)

Ali and Fahimeh (left)
Andrew, his wife Keiko, and their baby girl, Alisha (right)

World's #1 Happy Couple! (If you have a partner, I pray you can say the same!)

Mansur, Johnathan, Masa, Benjamin, and Kendra (Johnathan's wife)

Andrew and Alisha. She looks like him, especially the chin!

Vivian, practicing....

Once again, the lovely couple!

2 cakes! In Japan, the cakes are so tiny, I had to get 2!!!! If you have never been to Japan and do not know what we go through to have a decent birthday party, you can laugh at the size of the cakes!!!!

My Love, opening the gift I gave him. A GUESS watch!

Us, at the station, heading back home!

This Is what I did to my hair. It is my newest creation. It took forever, but it looked cool. I used a silk scarf to match my dress.

More Pictures of Malaysia!

2007-04-17T03:31:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. These are a few more pictures from our trip. I dowloaded them to our computer a little later, so I am uploading them here now. I hope you enjoy! There are some shots taken from the airplane that show some of the islands in Kota Kinabalu. Others are from our hotel room in Kuala Lampur, which had a great view!

Garden of our hotel in Kota Kinabalu!

This was a beautiful Malaysian girl who palyed a traditional instrument at the hotel lobby!

This was the location of our hotel in Kota Kinabalu. We were located at the peninsula! Beautiful!

Trip to Malaysia

2007-04-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

We were in Malaysia for about 8 days. We had a great time. Two years ago, we visited Sabah, a region that belongs to Malaysia but is located on an island that is shared with Indonesia and Brunei. it is absolutely beautiful. The name os the city is Kota Kinabalu and it has 5 islands on its coast, where the sea is gorgeous, the nature marvelous and the variety of fish amazing. We swam the whole day, feeding bread to the fish, who ate from our own hands. They were all sorts of colors, sizes and shapes. An experience that will never be forgotten!

After 6 nights at a Shangri-la resort in Kota Kinabalu, we spent a night in Kuala Lampur!

Vivian's Graduation

2007-04-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! it has been a very long time... Well, life gets really busy in Japan during the months of March and April. The school year here begins in spring, so, there is a lot to do at this time. Well, this to say that I was extremely busy with my Master thesis for a long time. When it was finally over, I had to work on a PhD research proposal. I took the entrance exam on March 9th and had an interview on Marh 10th, and heard the good news on the 17th. I PASSED! I will start my studies this week, and will be in Japan for at least another 3 to 4 years. I will be studying about the education of Brazilian immigrants in Japan. If anyone has an insight, a contact, a suggestion, or whatever information that might help me, please let me know.

On March 23rd, I officially graduated and received my diploma. That was the time I felt I had actually done it. COOL! The next step is the hardest one, but I will do my best to accomplish it! Thanks for all of those who supported me during the past few years. I am trully blessed to have a husband, a family and a whole bunch of friends who love and encourage me daily!

ARIGATO!

Kobe University's Choir!

Japanese style cheering! Very interesting. First time I saw a lady doing it! Crazy! I bet she lost her voice for a week.

This is Watanabe. He was was an undergraduate student of Engeneering. We met him at a convenience store close to our place. He works there in the evenings. Later we found out he was a student at Kobe University. He is going on to the Masters course. Though about 4,000 people were graduating that day, he managed to find Mansur and I outlide the gymnasium. At times like this I find it very convenient to be a foreigner. If we were Asians, there was no way he would have spot us among the crowd!

This is my Japanese mother, who lives in Tokyo. I would visit her about once a month when I lived in Tokyo. She came to Kobe for my undergraduate graduation ceremony as well.

My Valentine Bouquet!

2007-02-17T03:08:00.000-08:00

Japan has pretty much distorted the whole idea of Valentine's Day and has made this "foreign" holiday so interestingly celebrated that it has become part of the Japanese culture. In Japan, only men get gifts on Valentine's Day. Ladies are supposed to give men chocolate as a gift. Department stores and bakeries make a lot of money this time of the year, but there are also women who prefer to cook something instead of buying it.

March 14th, also known as White Day, is the day when men have to "pay back" and give women gifts as well. It is usually chocolate too, but many times, white chocolate. Men are usually responsible to give something to every woman who gave them something on February 14th.

Now, since it is my 7th Valentine's Day in Japan, I am already used to the chocolate deal. But I am also amazed when I realize that once again, I am the only lady who has received flowers from my man. It seems like it is "against the law" to do so on Valentine's Day. It has become a day when only the men show a smile on their faces while ladies walk around in hope of receiving something in return a month later. Therefore, as I walk downtown holding my bouquet, women look at me thinking: "Lucky girl! I'd better plan on a foreign boyfriend by next year..." and the men look at Mansur thinking "Man, what on Earth are you doing all this flower business for? Can't you see you are breaking the rules and giving us trouble by making our partners jealous?" What I say is: "If they knew we were married, they'd fall back!" In this country, marriage = cold relationship. Japanese can hardly imagine that a married couple would still go out on dates and give gifts to each other on occasions like this!

My Sweet Students!

2007-02-17T02:55:00.000-08:00

These are 3 students of one of my English conversation classes. They are so lovely. Hiromi (left) is younger than me and works as a bank clerk. She is very interested in English! Shiho (bottom/right) is a translator. She uses English everyday as she translated documents, but never gets a chance to speak. Her speaking skills are very good though! Kokoro (top/right) is a high school student. She is the cutest thing!!! Her name means "heart" in Japanese. It is quite rare, but everyone loves it when they hear it. Her mother makes quilts and she gave each one of us a little gift when the term ended. Hiromi, Shiho and I are holding our gifts!

Satoko & Hideyuki's Wedding!

2007-02-17T02:22:00.000-08:00

Monday, Feb. 12, was a holiday in Japan. That day, Satoko and Hideyuki got married at our church in Kobe. After a few rainy days the past week, the Lord blessed the newly weds with a beautiful shiny morning. The ceremony, at 11am, was amazing and everyone felt God's presence! Since in Japan, only close friends and relatives attend the reception, our friend Sofi organized a gathering at a French restaurant in town for those not attending the reception. We were 14 people (only 2 men), eating and having fellowship together that afternoon.

Satoko and her father entering the church!

Pastor Rob delivering a message of love!

Beautiful Children!

Nana and Akira (Batayan), who got married last September!

My Korean friend, Minji, and I. Minji is a friend from university. She is also taking her Masters. She has started to come to church with me recently!

Kaori, Minji and I!

Rachel (Pastor Rob's wife), in the center; and Sonja, on the right!

Sofi and Aya

Kaori and I getting ready to eat a delicious meal!

Smoked salmon salad!

Fish! Tasted GREAT!

Chicken dish! This was Kaori's, so I don't know how it tasted. Sorry!

Dessert! Simple, but delicious!

Picture shot!

Party at Professor's House

2007-01-30T07:01:00.000-08:00

Iranian Party!

2007-01-30T06:57:00.000-08:00

Leah and Frazer's Engagement Party

2007-01-30T06:52:00.000-08:00

Dec.31st - Service at KBF

2007-01-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

Dec.29th - Dinner at Hamid & Hitomi's New Home!

2007-01-01T18:57:00.000-08:00

Kobe's Illumination 2006

2007-01-01T18:51:00.000-08:00

Dec.24th - Church Service

2007-01-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

It was such a blessing to have Christmas on a Sunday! We stayed at church until midnight, singing and celebrating, calling Japanese people who were walking outside to come in and see the church, since they hardly get a chance to experience a Christmas day that actually relates to God and Jesus! We had an amazing time. Pastor Rob decided the Sunday before that there would be baptism, though nobody had planned for it. He said it in faith and a week later, on Christmas Eve, we had 4 people accepting Jesus as their personal savior! Mama was one of them and Mansur participated in the baptism! God is working in Japan and it is a blessing to be a witness!

Dec.23rd - Dinner at Our Place!

2007-01-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

Mansur and I love to have people over! Both of us love to cook and serve, so it is a blessing to celebrate with friends. On the 23rd, we decided to have a few people over. It had been a while since I am so busy with my Master's thesis. However, we managed to do something before the end of the year. It was Yuko's mom's birthday that day and we had another reason to celebrate other then Xmas!
God had blessed us with friends in Japan and we are truly thankful!

Hamid, Kurosh and Kaori

Food!

Mama loves beer! Here we have Kaori and me, then Hamid and Yuko in the back! Yuko's mom (whom we all refer to as Mama) is holding a glass of beer. Beside her are Hiromi (from Tokushima) and Yoko!

Here is Masashi in black and Norifumi in blue. Mansur met Nori a few months ago in one of Kobe's MacDonald's! He just turned 18, is finishing High School and has been coming to our church. Please keep him in your prayers. May God guide Nori and teach him the truth about Jesus Christ coming to this world o save us!

Mama, surrounded by handsome men!

Preparing Mama's birthday cakes!!!

Blowing away!

Getting ready to eat again!

Dec.20th - 4th Wedding Anniversary!

2007-01-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our 4th anniversary on Wednesday, Dec.20th! It has been a tough end of the year for both or us, with a lot of responsibilities and we could not do much that day. After all school, work and church activities, we went for coffee and pie! It was nice to be together and reflect on all that has happened in the past 4 years. God has been good to us and we are truly blessed to have each other!!!

The Birthday Party of 5 of Us!!!

2006-12-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, December 3rd, we celebrated my birthday at an Italian restaurant with another 4 friends who had the birthdays that same week. Mansur was so sweet, as usual, and bought 5 small cakes, each with one of our names on it. It was fun! We were all surprised! Friends from church and university were there as well as 3 of my students. Check out the pictures.

Nov.29th!

2006-12-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Kyoto was on Nov.28th, a previous celebration of my birthday! On the 29th, we went to the movies and then to church where Mansur had a surprise birthday cake for me. I was so touched by everyone's love that I cried, something not so hard for me to do!

Autumn Leaves in Kyoto!

2006-12-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

My 25th birthday was on Nov.29th! Since I have been extremely busy with school, Mansur planned on taking somewhere for 2 days and he kept it a secret. Unfortunately, 3 days before the departure date, the travel agency called saying they had made a mistake and all of a sudden we had to change plans. Mansur was really upset since he had been looking forward to the "escape" but the truth is we had a great time anyway!

Though we live in Kansai for about 6 years now, we do not go to touristic spots very often. I am sure that if we knew we would be leaving Japan soon, we would try to visit everywhere, but since we feel like this is our home, we tend to forget to go out and explore what is near us.

Well, to tell you the truth, coming from a tropical country where the 4 seasons were hardly displayed, I had never seen the autumn leaves' beauty like I did this week. All this time in Japan and still I had only enjoyed the sakuras in spring. So, this trip to Kyoto was a great birthday present to me.

Kyoto is a great site. All of Japan seems to be there. The traditional meets the modern!!! I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Mansur stands beside a monk, who has absolutely no idea we are taking this picture!

Imagine having this view from your window!!!

Behind me is a nice Japanese restaurant with a foot onsen on the outside. It looked great but I had tights on, so I could not join. Mansur laughed and said he'd take a picture for me to remember I could not join the others!

Once again, awesome view!!! Most shops and restaurants face the river. It must be nice in the beginning of summer too, before it gets too hot to wanna go anywhere!

This is the happiest couple on Earth!!! My Love is usually busy taking pictures of me, but sometimes we manage to ask someone to take one of us!

This man is selling fish and shrimp, I think. It looked cool!

Behind me is a Japanese style hotel, with onsen and all. There were so many tourists all over the place. It was a beautiful day and the autumn leaves were amazing!

Here is a girl selling all sorts of hot soups and warm sweets. I love the Japanese style shops and stands. They rock!!!

Most of you know that I just love mochi (Japanese rice sweets). They are the best. I could not help myself but to order some in Kyoto, which is famous for mochi! They were yummy!

Here is a fan shop that I thought was so Japaneesee too!

These are made from Japanese silk and used for decorating the home. There are various different motifs that are usually displayed according to the seasons! I bought one for out living room!

These are accessories made with Japanese silk and acrylic. They are quite popular since they mix Japanese art and Western design!

After walking all day all we needed was good, tasty Japanese food! This was Mansur's dish!

My Parents' Place in Brazil!

2006-11-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

Now you know how I feel living in TINY Japan.

Early Thanksgiving Dinner!

2006-11-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

Alisha is born!!!

2006-11-14T02:13:00.000-08:00

This beautiful girl is Alisha, the daughter of our dear friends Andrew and Keiko! She was born today, November 14th! May God bless this precious life and give wisdon to her parents!

Our dinner!

2006-11-14T02:03:00.000-08:00

After a few days of hardly any cooking done on my part, I finally left studies aside to take care of my man! We had cream cheese filled hamburgers covered with tomato/olive/parsely sauce and mossarela cheese, crunchy safron rice and fresh vegetables with yogurt/parsely dip! Mansur took a picture! Check it out!

My younger brother, Kyle!

2006-11-13T07:27:00.000-08:00

Iranian Dinner!

2006-11-13T07:21:00.000-08:00

It seems like every single time I decide to write an entry, its related to food. I guess people are just happy when it comes to eating. last Tuesday, we visited a few Iranian friends and had great food. These are the pictures...

Kerrie and Simon's Sayonara Dinner

2006-10-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends Kerrie and Simon will be leaving Japan in 2 weeks. They are heading to Europe for a tour and then plan on settling down in Australia. So, Leah decided to have a farewell dinner for them at her place. We were 8 people, 4 couples, representing 6 different countries. It was cool! Leah prepared Greek food and it was so OISHII! Check out the pictures!

My Love & I

Johnathan & Kendra

Kerrie & Simon

Leah & Frazer

Vegetables and dips!

Protein!

Leah and her amazing tea collection

Dating

2006-10-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

A very important thing to do after getting married is to never stop dating!!! Mansur and I are conscious about our dating schedules! Spending time together as boyfriend and girlfriend is extrememly significant in keeping our love strong! Last week, we went for a walk. The weather was great and the view of Kobe port is always amazing! We sat down outside and chatted, appreciating our beautiful city. Then we went for a walk, had a few snacks on the way, and finally stopped at a simple Japanese style fast food restaurant and ate fried stuff! it was awesome!

Habu-chan's Birthday!

2006-09-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to an Italian restaurant to celebrate Habu-chan's birthday!

Eriko (Habu-chan) & Kazu

Hitomi & Hamid, with their son, Kurosh! This is obviously after Kurosh ate a lot of pasta. His belly is huge!

Wine Bar!!!

2006-09-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

There is this restaurant in Kobe that I just love. Its Italian food is great, the price is reasonable and the best thing is the international wine selection!!! We pay 840 yen (about US$8) to drink as much as we'd like in 90 minutes... So, last week, we were there with a group of friends from church!

Here is Mansur and David being silly! If you take a close look, you will notice that Mansur was playing with his mustache, and trying to stretch it out to the sides to look like a cartoon character or an Indian Maharaja! Whatever it is, if I'd known, I'd kindly ask him to fix it!!! Now, we can just laugh! He loves to joke around!

That night, we met Corran, David's friend, who was visiting from Tokyo! Seems like he loved our city so much he might be willing to move down here!

From left to right: David, Corran, Sonja (who you can't see-sorry!), Shintaro (a Japanese guy who is also a graduate student at Kobe University-we have bumped into each other a few times), Benjamin, Frazer,Leah, LeeAnn, and Yoko

Here are 4 ladies, representing 4 different countries!!! LeeAnn from the US, Yoko from Japan, Carina from the Philippines, and Bibian from Brazil! COOL!!! That is what I love about our life in Japan! We have friends from all over the world! That night we also had Sonja from Australia (with Macedonian background) and Frazer from New Zealand!!! And that is nothing!!! There are a lot more friends you will get to meet later on!

University Friends

2006-09-26T04:57:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to dinner with 4 Japanese friends who were in my class when I studied Communication at Kobe University! We graduated over 1 year ago and had not met since then! Only the girl in the center, Ayane, has come over a few times since then! She remains a dear friend to me... She was the first one to ever talk to me at school! It was Orientation Day, in March/2001! She came up to me, noticing I was alone and was the only one who did not look Asian! We have been great friends since then! She is the sweetest!!!!!!!!!!!!

Batayan & Nana's Wedding!

2006-09-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

Sergio's Visit

2006-09-11T23:33:00.000-07:00

I remember when I got the scholarship to come to Japan. Out of so many test takers, only another guy and I were offered to enter the program. When we left Brazil, we were scared, clueless of what was ahead. Sergio and I became close friends, we hung out together, we were the only ones who could share Brazilian culture, language, food... We really supported each other our first year in Japan!
Then, I came to Kobe and he went to a cold area, a prefecture named Niigata. Three years ago his dad came to Japan to work at the Consulate. Now, Sergio is in Tokyo again, finishing his Masters (like me) and living with his dad and his new step-mom and newborn step-sister.
Last week they visited us in Kobe and traveled around this area to see Osaka, Himeji, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe. Below are a few of the pictures we took while they were around!

Here is Karen, Sergio's 8-month old step-sister. She is adorable! So quiet! A blessing! Her mom can be seen on the left side!

Here is Karen again! KAWAII!

On the right is our friend Sergio, on the left is his dad (also called Sergio) and his new baby Karen!

Marriage - What a Blessing!

2006-09-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

I was looking at some of our wedding pictures these days. It was so much fun! I wished all of you could have shared that moment with us. It will soon be 4 years... Time flies. I do not have the professional pictures on digital data, but these are some of the shots our friend, LeeAnn, got during the wedding day. She was with me the whole day, so you can see the process of me getting ready!
God has blessed me with a wonderful husband. Like every little girl I had dreams of having a happy family, of being in love with my man, of encouraging and trusting each other at all times, but to tell you the truth, I never thought it would be this good. I am so blessed!!! I want to share our love with all around us, especially in Japan, where couples are not happily ever after and where marriage is seen as a symbol for family, and nothing more. I want to see them understand that you do not get married just to get settled down and look stable, have children and fight about their needs. I pray they can understand what God meant when He created marriage. Two people become one flesh! How powerful that is!!!
All I want is to honor God with our marriage... I want to respect and admire Mansur forever. And I want to be the wife described in Proverbs 31. The following verse is stuck to the kitchen cupboard at home, where I can always see it and remind myself or who I should be: "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence on her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."

Below is the hotel we spent two nights at. Since Mansur's family was in Brazil, we did not go anywhere for honeymoon right after the wedding. Half a year later, we took our first trip abroad as a married couple, we spent a month in India!

Smile!

2006-08-29T01:11:00.000-07:00

My love and I !!!

Korean Restaurant

2006-08-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

After church this evening we went with a total of 10 people to a Korean restaurant. It was our second time and the food is amazing! We should go more often and try different dishes.

Mansur ordered a Japanese sake, which is served with a small dish underneath the glass so that the sake that overflows can be poured into the glass after you take the first sip. It was delicious!

I am trying to hold a menu, though it is hardly visible.

Today we met Kim and Mark (on the left). They got married in the US and just moved to Japan. This was their frist Sunday at church, but it was great to go out and get them hooked up with some of us. Though it is sad to see friends leave, it is always a blessing to welcome new people. Benjamin (on the right) joined us after a 3-week absence. He had gone home this summer and is now back for another year!

Kaori (left) and Yoko (right) share a spicy dish!

Left to right: Leah, Frazer and Hideki

Hitomi's Birthday!

2006-08-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

Our dear friend, Hitomi, celebrated her birthday last Wednesday, August 16 at a popular Italian restaurant in Kobe. We all had a great meal, chatting and laughing for hours. It was awesome!

This is the whole group!

On the left (front to back): Takashima, Hamid holding Kurosh, Hitomi, Andrew, Kathleen, and Rika

On the right (front to back): Ryo-chan, me, Mansur, Ali and Fahimeh(she is not really in the picture), and Tomoko

Happy Birthday!

We surprised Hitomi with a few hanabis!

We were both dressed in blue, although we did not exactly plan to do so.

This was a gift from Hamid, a beautiful watch! I think Hitomi was so excited she needed help to open it!

Summer!

2006-08-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

This summer we decided to stay in Japan for a variety of reasons... August is so humid that it sometimes made me dream of a better place to be at this time, but we were able to do a few fun things to enjoy the heat!

Very close to Kobe is an island called Awaji. That was were the earthquake stroke in 1995. From Awaji, you can get a 10 min. boat ride to a small island called Nushima. There seems to be around 700 people living there today. For the very first time, we visited Nushima. It had a lot of fishing boats and tons of tourists who went to enjoy this tiny beach, which is much cleaner than the ones in Kobe. The day trip was great. We even had a picnic on the sand. Below are a few shots!

Mansur in the water with a few high school students we met!!!

Mansur and Hamid try to teach Abi how to swim... I think all he did was swallow a whole lot of water!

I think Mansur came out of the water only to eat, drink or go to the bathroom. He LOVES the sea!

The girls were having fun too!

This is a shot of us eating at a terrace of an onsen! The Akashi bridge behind us is the one that links Kobe to Awaji island. The moon can also be seen on the top right! It was a beautiful night...

1, 2, 3, JUMP!

2006-08-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

Growing fruits and vegetables!

2006-08-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

Last year we tried growing a few fruits and vegetables in planters! Believe it or not, we succeeded. This spring/summer we are doing it again! It is a lot of fun to see them grow and then pick and serve them at home! Below are some of the things we have outside!

Hanabi!

2006-08-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

There are some things about Japan than will just never change...One of them is summer's collection of firework festivals! They are absolutely great. I remember that in Brazil, on every New Year's Eve, we would watch Rio's fireworks on TV. It was an amazing sight. However, I can now see the same thing live in various Japanese cities in the month of August. In Kobe, since it is a smaller city, the show lasts for 50 minutes. In other places there are longer exhibitions with even better quality.

This is part of our group, sitting on the floor, having a picnic and enjoying the fireworks. The two girls in yuukatas on the left, the lady straight behind me in white and the girl on the far right are students from one of my English conversation classes. Kokoro (in red), Akiko (in blue), Hiroko (behind me) and Shiho (far right)!!! The lady in balck is Hiroko's friend (Junko) and the girl beside Shiho is her friend (Yuki, I think)!

I love to walk around the city on a firework day! Young people wear their yuukatas, or Japanese summer kimonos! It is such a colorful sight. It finally looks like I am in Japan. Other than the extremely hot weather, there is not much to complain about this spectacular time of the year!

This is a couple from Osaka, who got married a few months ago. Their wedding was performed by Mansur and they came to see us in Kobe for the fireworks!

I have no idea why Japanese love crowds. If you ever come to Japan you will soon notice how they run to crowded places, go out in rush hours and line up when another 100 people are already there. And, if you join a hanabi festival, you will see that they leave as soon as its over, meaning the thousands of people walk towards a single station at the same time. A walk that usually takes 5 minutes can turn out to be a 30-40 min. walk. All of this to say that when the fireworks were over, most of us stayed where we were and finished our food and beer, while the rest of Kobe struggled to go back home.

Karaoke Night

2006-07-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

Mary, Frazer and Ross organized a get-together last weekend. Our plan was to have fellowship and enjoy the presence of those who would be leaving Japan this summer, including Mary and Ross. Our original thought was to have a picnic at a park, but since the rain surprised us, we took our food to a karaoke box and sang away! It was awesome and all of us enjoyed a 4-hour singing party!

More on Fuji!

2006-07-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

Mt. Fuji

2006-07-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

From left to right:

Me, Christi, Kami, Masa, Thomas (top)

Hitomi, LeeAnn, Tracey (bottom)

Last Saturday, July 15th, I climbed Mt. Fuji with another 7 people. I have always heard stories about the adventure, but had never really gotten to the point of organizing a trip to climb the mountain. When our friend Masa mentioned the idea, I did not get very excited since there was a church retreat scheduled for the same weekend. However, a few days later, I figured I'd better join the group to Fuji because there might not be such an opportunity anytime soon. Unfortunately, Mansur could not make it, since he had to work in Kobe... ZANNEN!!!

It was a hard climb. The weather was terrible. There was rain, wind, snow, sleet, etc. It was BAD! We started climbing from the 5th station at about 7:30 pm. There are 10 stations in total. We had planned to have dinner at the 8th station, followed by a short nap, but the resting area was completely booked and we had no choice but to stay at the 7th stop instead. It was cold and by the time we reached the restaurant, I was sweaty on the inside and therefore felt really cold... Because of that, I could not sleep at all. It would be a tough night ahead. We continued our climb at midnight, hoping to reach the peak by sunrise at around 4:20 am. We had no clue what was ahead of us though. The weather changed from bad to worse. We were miserable. For nearly 1.5 to 2 hours, it was a total typhoon up there. If I didn't hold on to the rope along the track, I'd probably had flown off the mountain or rolled all the way down. However, with no shelter in sight and no turning back, there was only one way, move forward! It was awesome to have so many friends for support. I could not imagine being in that situation alone... By then, we were a total of 7 people, since Christi decided to stay at the 7th station.

When we got to the 9th station, it was almost 3am and in order to reach the peak by sunrise, we had to leave pretty soon. I basically told everyone that I would love to go to the peak but not in such weather, and that my vote was to stay where we were for a few hours until it got a little better. Almost everyone agreed. LeeAnn was the one who desperately wished to reach the top of the mountain by 4:20 am. When she said she'd continue the hike no matter what, Thomas offered to join her and the two climbed away, in extremely nasty weather. The rest of us sat down and ate expensive cup noodles (they cost 5 times more at Fuji) and prayed for better weather!

This picture was taken on the way to the peak, the following morning. The sun was trying to shine, but the clouds covered it up. The white you see on the picture is snow!

When the sun illuminated our way and the wind decided to give us a break, the 5 of us, waiting at the 9th station, started the final climb to the peak. It was a hard one, and though you could see the top, it seemed so far away. Our bodies were starting to get pretty tired and all I could think of was the way down. I had done my best to get the the top, but it was still half the way! We reached the peak and entered a shelter. The sky was not clear at all, and it was very hard to see anything around us. After a few hours at the peak, we started to descend.

The way down was scary! I had a hard time finding a secure way to step on the rocks. Everything was wet and it was so slippery! I felt like it took forever to get to the 7th station, where we were supposed to meet the whole group to head to the 5th station together.

God is good! No one got seriously injured. There were just a few bruises here and there, from slight falls! We were all proud of everyone's hard work and when we reached the bottom of the mountain, all we could talk about was going to an onsen. It was the best bath ever!!!

Masa had reserved a hotel for Sunday night and we sleep WELL! The following day, we headed down to Kansai and it was around 10pm when I got home. The following 2-3 days were blessed by a strong muscle pain and fatigue. However, now I can honestly say that this trip was awesome. I am so grateful for the opportunity of climbing Mt. Fuji. Now, all the mountains I see in Kobe seem so tiny and easy to explore. Who knows... Maybe I will become an adventurous mountain climber!

Mary's Birthday!

2006-06-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, June 20th, Mary celebrated her birthday at the Brazilian restaurant in Kobe. We had a great time and I loved to eat churrasco!!!

Mary and Kerrie

Beautiful ladies!!!

This is almost everyone who was there!

It looks just like Brazil!!!

A happy couple!

LeeAnn's Baptism!

2006-06-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

LeeAnn has been a very special friend! Mansur and I met her, when I first moved to Kobe and Mansur was still living in Tokyo. He would come for the weekend and we would go to Kobe International Baptist Church at the time. That is where we built great friendships. We got to know LeeAnn quite well! Then, when we decided to get married in Brazil, LeeAnn booked a ticket even before the bride and groom had planned their flights! Mansur went to Brazil through Singapore and South Africa, while I flew via USA. LeeAnn stayed with my family for 10 days or so, and we had a great time. Now, my parents keep inviting her for a longer home stay! She is actually thinking about the possibility since she loves Brazil.

This year, LeeAnn made a final decision to follow Christ and she was baptized at the beach party along with many other friends. It was a blessing to be a part of it!

Beach Party

2006-06-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

Once a year, our church has a special service at one of Kobe's beaches. We get together with a few other smaller churches in the area of Kansai (Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Kyoto). This year, many people got baptized in the sea. It was awesome. Unfortunately, Mansur was working in another island, Shikoku, and could not join us. Check out the pictures!

This is just a small fraction of the crowd

watching people get baptized.

This is Yoko getting baptized. She made the

decision a week before the beach party.

Praise the Lord!!!

Here is our brother David. God has been working in

his life, molding him! His baptism was a great blessing to all.

Kaori is the sweetest girl... God's light shines through her.

Intensive Course at Kobe University

2006-06-17T05:07:00.000-07:00

I am majoring in Applied Linguistics at Kobe University, but I am also taking a few lessons on European Economy, Law and Politics in order to receive a second graduate certificate on European Studies. It is extremely difficult since I have never studied any of it before, but I am enjoying the lectures.

For two weeks, I have been taking an intensive course in European Private International Law, lectured by a professor from Scotland. It was awesome to learn so many new things. The explanation was outstanding, allowing uninformed students like me to enjoy and understand the material.

This picture was taken yesterday, after a small party organized by Kobe University. The Scottish professor is the one beside me, the 3rd one from left to right. We were a very international group of students, from Hungary, Brazil, Canada, Korea, Iran, Taiwan, and Japan. It was a great experience.

God's Creation II

2006-05-30T01:45:00.000-07:00

God's Creation I

2006-05-30T01:38:00.000-07:00

Pedicure!

2006-05-29T00:27:00.000-07:00

Mary, Kendra, Leah and I met for pedicures! We went to Mary's place and had a very pleasant evening...

I bet you can tell which foot is mine!!!

Mary and Kendra

Look at the pile of dead skin we got off our feet!

GROSS!!! Sorry for sharing!

Fancy Dinner

2006-05-29T00:16:00.000-07:00

The other night, Mansur and I went to a fancy restaurant! We had a great time!!! Check it out!

Home Party

2006-05-13T02:16:00.000-07:00

We had a home party last week to enjoy the great weather

with some of our friends. It was a blessing!

Hamid's 42nd Birthday!!!

2006-05-13T01:57:00.000-07:00

On April 29th Hamid turned 42.We had a great

time at his place that evening.

Mansur's 40th Birthday!!!

2006-05-13T01:42:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys!!! I can't believe how bad I have been at updating this blog...SORRY!
Well, on April 21st we celebrated Mansur's 40th birthday at an Italian restaurant in Kobe. A total of 20 people joined and it was awesome. Check out the pictures!!

This is the whole group!!!

Kurosh was trying hard to make a mess and his

parents seemed to be enjoying it.

Benjamin, Mansur and I

Hanami at Shukugawa

2006-04-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

We went to Shukugawa, a very beautiful river in Ashiya and enjoyed the sakuras!!!!!!! Spring has arrived!

Mansur and I at KBF

2006-04-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

My parents and my brother, Kyle

2006-04-10T04:44:00.000-07:00

My mom and I

2006-04-10T04:38:00.000-07:00

My cousin (Raquel) and I

2006-04-10T04:35:00.000-07:00

My grandparents (dad's parents)

2006-04-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

My younger brother, Kyle

2006-04-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Family Time

2006-04-04T05:48:00.000-07:00

Going back to Brazil for a few weeks was a blessing for my family and I. Though Mansur stayed in Japan all by himself and we had to struggle with the fact of being away from each other, it was still a time of amazing growth for the two of us.
My family had not had me back in Brasilia for 3 years, and my parents had not seen me in 2 years (we met in America in 2004). Therefore, we had the opportunity of sharing so many things as we spent time together this past month. Living away from my family for 6 years has taught me how to love them even more. God has been working in me and showing me the virtue of patience, kindness, forgiveness and love. However, He has also taught me that Mansur and I are not alone in Japan. As most of you know, no matter where you go in the world, the Lord introduces you to the family of Christ. Our church in Kobe, KBF, and all the friends that have been in our lives in Japan are a blessing to us. It is because of God`s love that we can all love one another and support, care and comfort each other every day. I am sure that it is because of the family we have in Japan that we are not wishing to be somewhere else, closer to our biological family. Though we do miss them very much, we know that we are not alone being away from them.
After staying in Brazil and visiting friends in America for almost a month and a half, I couldn`t wait until I returned to my husband, my home and my church. I really missed Kobe and its people. I wished to walk on the streets of Sannomiya! I was excited about worshiping at KBF and hugging all of my borthers and sisters there. I was able to see that my life is wonderful and that God has blessed me with great human relationships.
Thank you all for being part of this joy!

First 2 Days in Brazil

2006-02-06T02:18:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I have finally had the time to sit down and write you an update. I am so sorry for the delay. As most of you already know, I am here in Brazil right now. I arrived on Saturday, Feb.4th. My ticket from Japan was for Thursday night, but just an hour before heading to the airport in Osaka, my travel agent called informing that the flight was going to leave at midnight instead of 7pm. Then, I had two options. One was to go at midnight and spend a night in Dallas, before taking the next flight to Brazil. The other was to stay home an extra day and leave on Friday night instead. Since Mansur and I were missing each other so much and had already been crying a week prior to that, I decided to spend an extra day in Kobe. The moment we knew that I did not have to leave until the very next day, we started giggling...We were so happy to have an extra 24hrs together. We never imagined how precious 24hrs could be. It was great. We took a nap, ate dinner and left for an onsen with Hamid and Hitomi. That extra day with my husband was one of the most valuable ones. For a moment, life was colorful again, though we knew that on the following day we could not escape the goodbyes.

My flight was LONG and tiring. It is horrible to fly all the way to Brazil without stopping in America to rest for a few days. It took me 1.5 days to get from Kobe to Brasilia. All I could think of was a shower. Once I got myself clean and ready for summer, my parents, my younger brother (Kyle) and my aunt and cousin went out for lunch. We ate typical Brazilian food, at a restaurant in the city park. It was delicious.

Before heading home that Saturday night, I could manage to stop at a beauty shop and get my nails done. It was great. Then, I stopped by my grandpaerents' house, which happens to be a few meters away from mine, and we ate a snack together while chatting for an hour or so.

Sleeping at home was nice and quiet. My parents have a great space, 20min drive from the city center. We have trees, birds, horses, streams, coffee plants, and a whole lot more. There are 7 houses, all of family members. It is fun. I hope to get some pictures to post here for you.

On Sunday, we stayed at home during the day, celebrating my dad's birthday. At night we attended church, the one Mansur and I got married at 3 yrs ago. Everyone missed him and sent their best regards. It was funny to be back after so long. Things have changed, as they should, but it is weird when you weren't there to see it happen.

Today I am going to join my mother at the school where she teaches, and I will start preparing for my research.

Let us keep in touch!

Sorry for the long absence...

2006-01-19T22:57:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry not to update this blog in more than a week. It has been so hard to do all that I have to do this month. As most of you know, I will be spending 5 weeks in Brazil. I leave in less than 2 weeks from now. The reason I am so busy is that my classes are almost finished at university and there are so many papers, articles, and presentations to conclude until then. Also, I am planning to do a research while I am in Brazil, and the preparation is taking me so long. I am staying at school until night time and going there to study even on days I have no classes. I am also trying to manage some time with Mansur, since we will be apart for so long! I know it will be so hard on him not to have me around for 5 weeks. I will miss him dearly but I will be busy with my studies and with family reunions. He will be living his usual life in Kobe, waiting for me to return. So he will surely suffer more than me. So, I ask all of our dear friends in Japan to pay him a visit once in a while! He will really need friends while I am away. Please call to check on him and invite him to do things!!! He might be so depressed that he'd rather stay at home alone, but please beg him to go out and have some fun with you guys. He will really be comforted by your support. I will try to keep you all updated, by posting pictures and comments while I am up-side-down, in Brazil.... (hahahaha) Anyway, please forgive me for not sharing anything interesting these days. I will hopefully do better in a week or two. God bless you all!

In Odaiba

2006-01-09T02:47:00.000-08:00

In Shibuya

2006-01-07T02:34:00.000-08:00

Mansur and his friend Andy!

Some old and new friends at TGI Friday's!

Mansur and I at Shibuya Station

In Gunma

2006-01-06T04:48:00.000-08:00

Mehdi and Mansur drink beer while the other Mansur has some green tea.

Mehdi, Mansur and Noriko

Nice couple!

Smile!

Gunma is a prefecture right beside Tokyo. It is a typical representation of Japan's countryside. You cannot survive without a car, the streets are extremely dark, the nearest convenience store is 3km away, there are onsens everywhere, and all you see in the horizon are rice fields. This is where Mansur's cousin (also named Mansur) lives!

A few years ago, at the gym we go to, we met Noriko, a Japanese lady who lived quite close to our place and worked as a hairdresser in the neighborhood. She had lived in Malysia for a while and ended up becoming a Muslim there. She was still single, since in Japan there are not many Muslim men available. So, Mansur and I arranged for his cousin to come and visit us in order to meet her and see if they liked each other. He was also looking for a Muslim lady, but he wanted a Japanese one, which made everything as difficult as it could get. Making a long story short, they dated for a while before getting married. Noriko left Kobe and moved to Gunma, but still dreams of the day she shall return to the Kansai area.

New Year's Eve

2006-01-06T04:17:00.000-08:00

After enjoying Tokyo for a few days, New Year's Eve came and we had not particular plan. We were taking a day at a time, since there were so many friends to see and so many places to go. At the very last moment, we went to Majid's place and chatted for a few hours while eating a tasty kebab he had prepared. Majid is one of Mansur's friends from waaaaaaaaay back.

Majid then told us that some Iranian friends were planning to go to a karaole box and take along a keybord to play Iranian music all night long. Mansur knew about 6 of the 11 people planning to attend, so we joined them in an extremely Persian celebration.

It was a great experience for me. I remembered 3 years ago in Brazil, at the time of our wedding, when his family would stay up late and dance to Persian music at our balcony, inviting the Brazilian relatives to copy them. It looked easy, but I couldn't manage figuring out what to do with my hands when I danced with them. Swaying my hands in the air is not as simple as I thought, but one day I hope to dance in the smoothness and elegance that I see in Iranian women's movement. GAMBARIMASU!

The guys were so funny! They loved to dance and begged Mansur to join them.

Later on, they decided to play lambada, a Brazilian rythm that for some reason is known by every Iranian I meet! I tried to sing it, but I couldn't figure out if the song was that boring or if I only knew 3 phrases of it!

It is amazing how they all dance in unity!

Majid and Mansur looking a little tired...

Timothy and Amanda's Wedding at Tokyo Baptist Church

2006-01-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

Mohammad, or Mamali, has lived in Japan for about 15 years, the same amount of time as Mansur. Both of them come from the same country and lived in the same neighborhood in Tokyo for quite a long time. After Mansur became a Christian at Tokyo Baptist Church (TBC) he started to share his faith with a few Iranian friends. He invited Mohammad to attend a service at TBC and Mohammad kept going to church on Sundays until he became a Christian as well. Back then, Mansur moved to Kobe and could no longer support Mamali, who at the time had no English ability to even understand the pastor's message completely. However, God is good, and sent great friends to help Mohammad in his walk with the Lord. Judy, the pastor's wife, decided to choose a Christian name for Mamali and since Mansur was known as Paul, she thought that Timothy suited Mohammad quite well. Since then, he has been known as Timothy, though I still prefer to call him MAMALI, which in Iran is a cute nickname for Mohammad!

After about 4 years as a Christian, the Lord has blessed Mamali with a beautiful American lady named Amanda. Their story is quite interesting, but too long to be shared. Mansur and I just remember how he suffered with his feelings towards her, not even being able to build a friendship since his English was not good and her Japanese was not that great either. Once we went to his place and saw a pile of dictionaries on his desk, noticing that writing her an e-mail was quite a hard homework for him. But, God is good, and has decided to put these two people together for his glory. We pray that they may live happily, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit! AMEN!

Amanda walks in with her dad! They look happy... Unfortunately, her mom was not able to attend the wedding! ZANNEN!
Don't they look great together???

Judi Folds and Mansur read a Bible verse from Proverbs!

Hamid also joined us in Tokyo, but came back to Kobe right after the wedding. Mansur and I could stay a whole week in Tokyo! We had a lot of fun with some of our old friends!

This is a very special shot, with our pastor Dennis Folds and his wife, Judi. In July of 1999 Mansur was baptized at TBC by Dennis!

Our dear friend Miho, from Kobe, is now living in Tokyo and attending TBC. She has developed a special friendship with Amanda, but the funny thing is that she had met Mamali a few years ago when he came to visit us in Kobe. Back then, no one had any idea he would be getting married to Amanda! I don't think we even knew about Amanda at the time. Interesting how things work out, NE??!!!

This is us, the love birds!!! KAWAII NE?!!!!

Christmas Party!

2005-12-26T01:42:00.000-08:00

My Love tried on a vest that we got the night before at a friend's house when playing a X'mas gift exchange game. It was ridiculously small for him and obviously gayish! So, Kaori took it home cause it fit her well.

Mary, Kaori and Benjamin slept over on X'mas Eve!

This is me, and our huge fridge on the background!

This was our table. Not very traditional for X'mas time, but good enough to satisfy us!

We had 11 adults and 1 baby at our place, all that fits in our little house!

Mary and Kaori talk and eat away!

End-of-the-year Party!

2005-12-26T01:04:00.000-08:00

Mansur and Takashima

Dinner was great!

Smile ladies!

Last Wednesday, December 21st, was my last day of school this year. I only had class in the morning and as soon as it was over, I walked down home and prepared a healthy Japanese style soup for lunch! While we ate it, the phone rang and a friend invited us to a party that evening.
At the end of every year, Japanese companies organize parties for all of their employees. Takashima is a friend, who became a Christian at our church a year ago, but who has known Mansur for a few years now. He is the boss of a wedding company and Mansur and I have both worked for him a few times. He is also a professional piano player and plays for some of the weddings his company organizes.
He invited us to this dinner and asked Mansur to talk to the public about the meaning of a few important steps that make up a wedding, like the entrance of the bride and her father, the lifting of the veil, the ring exchange, etc.
We had a great time at the party! We both won prizes for the BINGO game. I got a Tiffany open-heart pendant! A few people sang and danced! At the very end, I sang Bossa Nova. We left the restaurant at 2:30 a.m. and took a cab from Osaka to Kobe. Takashima's company paid for it though! It was quite a long day!

3rd Wedding Anniversary!

2005-12-26T00:46:00.000-08:00

Smile!

So many Japs!!!!!!!!!

Someone kindly took our picture!

Isn't Kobe great?

I had to get my dessert at the end of our date!

We had a great time last Tuesday night, on our wedding anniversary! Kobe's end-of-the-year illumination was gorgeous! It took us longer than usual to get through since the walking path was so well organized this year. As we walked, we ate some Chinese food and some fried chicken! By the time we got to the end, we were not that hungry anymore. Still, we entered a restaurant and ordered a pizza and then a cute dessert for me. It was just great to spend time together and walk in the cold. God has blessed our marriage so far and we pray that He will continue to do so in 2006.

Am I that old???

2005-12-19T02:20:00.000-08:00

Please read the entry to see what this picture is doing here!

I just had to take the time to share this with you. It is absolutely ridiculous and I am extremely embarassed to let you know, but it was so funny that Mansur and I were laughing for about 15 minutes this evening. Last night, after church, we didn't go out for dinner with our friends like we usually do. We decided to come home a little earlier since I had to prepare 2 presentation outlines for this morning. I usually feel a little stressed before a big presentation because there are so many things in my mind. I knew that preparing dinner wouldn't take so long since we had some left-overs from the previous day, when I cooked some Indian style chicken for our guests. I prepared some crackers with cheese, tomato, olives, etc. Then, we ate our real dinner and after cleaning up, I sat in front of the computer to do my work. It didn't take so long to finish my studies. After a seven-hour sleep, I went to school this morning and did my best in both classes. The funny thing happened when I got home to prepare dinner tonight. I opened the fridge to see what we had that could be used, and then I saw a small Japanese-style bowl, which contained 2 chicken bones and a piece of used tissue paper. It was perfectly wrapped and when I got it I had no idea what it was doing there. I looked over at Mansur, who was sitting on the couch and said: "Love, did you put this in the..." But before I finished my question, I realized that it couldn't possibly have been him. It was certainly me, the wife, who had done such a silly thing. I looked back at the bowl, and while still holding the fridge's door open, I told him shamefully: "It was me, right??? I did it. Can you believe it? I am worse than an eighty-year-old obasan." And when he saw the contents, he couldn't stop laughing. I joined him in amusement. I defended myself by saying that I was probably so worried about my presentation and all the work I had to do last night that I cleaned up the table, and amazingly managed to wrap a nama gomi and return it to my fridge! I had absolutely no memory of it. If I had a pet, I might understand such an act, though the tissue would still be a mystery; but I do not have a pet and such bones would never be recycled at our place...
I then decided to take a picture and share it with you guys. And now, it's open for discussion...You can make fun of me! That is all I deserve. But if you can manage to be compassionate, you can try to make me feel better by sharing a similar experience. If not, I will just wonder why this happens only to me. Was my 24th birthday my turning point? Was that the mark of my critical period?

X'mas Week

2005-12-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is this Saturday. Time flies! We are so excited.... It is freezing over here, though I know it is not as bad as many other places on Earth it is still cold enough to make a Brazilian complain. However, we manage to stay warm.
Friday, the 23rd, is a holiday in Japan. Therefore, we have an early celebration. Our friends Andrew and Keiko, who just moved to a house 10min away from ours, have invited us to attend a X'mas party at their new place on the 23rd. Then, on the 24th, while Mansur is at work, I will be preparing for our own X'mas celebration that evening. A few friends will come and 3 of them will sleep over at our place. We are looking forward to that. Unfortunately, Mansur has to work on the 25th as well, and must wake up at 6:30.It will be tough on him... But since there will be guests at our place, it will be a blessed morning! We'll probably just chill and maybe do something relaxing before going to the Christmas service at 16:00.
I am already writing about next weekend when I know that this week still has so much to offer. On Tuesday, we will celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary. On Thursday, my first day off school, we are planning to go to an Onsen behind the mountains that form the beautiful city of Kobe.
We will hopefully add a few pictures throughout the week! Enjoy!
By the way, how are you spending your Christmas?

Leah's X-mas Party on Dec.10th

2005-12-15T02:48:00.000-08:00

Mary, Kaori and I in Leah's tatami room

Janice and Dawn help themselves for dessert

Pretty faces!!!

Mary, Leah and I pose beside the X-mas tree

that many enjoyed putting together that evening!

I have been planning to post this one for quite a while, but couldn't manage to fit it in my schedule. Sorry!

Well, last Saturday, Leah-chan decided to put this X-mas party together at her place. Though she has been extremely busy during week days, she still managed to invite about 20 people to her cozy apartment. Thanks, girl!

We all had a great time. I dropped by a little earlier to help out with the cutting and setting. Yumiko, a lovely Japanese friend, joined us as well an hour before others arrived.Leah is amazingly talented in the kitchen! All of us enjoyed her hospitality and her treats. Please check out the pictures and get to know some of our friends!

Kani

2005-12-06T03:33:00.000-08:00

Last night, my beautiful husband prepared steamed kani (crab) for us. It was absolutely delicious! Thank you Love!

My BirthWEEK

2005-12-06T02:55:00.000-08:00

My last entry was about my birthday and the great time I had with my lovely husband... Now you can see the pictures of the celebration last Sunday, at a restaurant in Harborland, Kobe. Thanks to my friend Masa, you can enjoy the picture of the harbor.
I must say that it is a blessing to have such a wonderful family of friends in Japan. It is what makes Mansur and I so comfortable here. I appreciate all of you! Sunday was an amazing evening for me. More than all the flowers, cards and gifts I received, your presence was the most important. ARIGATO!

My BirthDAY

2005-11-30T03:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, November 29th, I turned 24 years old. It was a great day. I stayed at home with Mansur in the morning. After lunch, I had 2 lectures at university and at the end of the second one, 2 friends surprised me with a cake! So, my professor and 2 other students joined us for tea and cake right there, in the classroom. It was so much fun!
In the evening, Mansur and I took the train to a new shopping mall a station away from home, and had dinner there. After window shopping for a while, we watched the movie Elizabethtown! Then, at about midnight we decided to walk back home. It took about 40 minutes, and it was nice and quiet. We walked through streets we had never entered before. It was a nice time together. After arriving home we talked to his family in Iran. Going to bed at 2 in the morning made it hard for me to go to class this morning, but after all, birthdays are only once a year, right???
This Sunday, December 4th, we will have a gathering at a restaurant in Kobe and celebrate my birthday with some friends. I am looking forward to it!

Chicken Curry!

2005-11-21T06:35:00.000-08:00

As the pictures show, tonight we enjoyed a marvelous curry. After taking vocal lessons in Namba, Osaka for about 2 years, this is the first time my teachers came over to our place in Kobe. The lady is my vocal trainer and the guy is the pianist who owns the music school. The 3 of us meet twice a month and work on a whole bunch of tunes including jazz, bossa nova and gospel.
Since I was stuck in school today, having 2 presentations, my beautiful husband prepared everything for tonight!!! He is a blessing! Who in the world will ever have a husband like mine???
The curry was amazing and the Iranian herb rice was so delicious. Gochisousamadeshita!

This is a new blog!!!

2005-11-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!
The end of the year has come...It is amazing how time flies! There are so many people with whom we have lost contact! It is a pity. We hope that this blog can help us to keep in touch. We would love to hear from you guys!
God bless!